A Utah family of five, including a fire captain, lost their lives in a flash flood during a weekend hiking excursion in southern Utah, authorities said.
The deceased were identified as Fire Captain Spencer Long, his wife, and three sons; their daughter, who was not on the hike, survived.
Heavy rains are believed to have caused the flood that claimed the family, according to a statement from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, which initially withheld names.
Provo Fire & Rescue later identified the family, confirming the death of Captain Spencer Long in an official statement.
The fire department expressed profound sorrow: “We are absolutely heartbroken by the death of Captain Spencer Long and his family. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.”
A GoFundMe campaign, linking the sheriff’s report with the fire department’s announcement, names the victims as Spencer Long, his wife Katrina, and sons Reid, Thayne, and Gage, who all perished in the flash flood.
The fundraising page also notes that the couple’s daughter, who was not present, has had “her life forever changed in an instant.”
The family arrived at a campground near Bicknell, Utah, for a day trip on Friday, the sheriff’s office reported.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. local time (23:00 GMT) on Friday, responders arrived at the campground and discovered a young male victim deceased.
Further searches uncovered two additional male victims, the statement said.
Rescue teams resumed operations on Saturday to locate the remaining two individuals; the sheriff’s office later confirmed that they too had been found dead.